Taurkon

One of my friends had a similar setup to you, except that her truck was an EB (from an 08' SD). She had all sorts of issues with the EB engine, mostly from the turbo's. However, her real complaint towing was the lack of engine braking. We have quite a few significant hills west of us (Rocky Mountains), and she never felt comfortable with the half ton brakes or engine braking. She ended up selling and picking up another SD.

I've never had issues with my 13' EB, and towed my 8500 lbs loaded TT just fine, gas mileage aside. Loaded though with the goodies for dry camping, I would be 1000 lbs over payload so sadly say good bye to my 13' FX4 tomorrow, replace with a F350 6.7. Can't say I imagine outgrowing the new tow vehicle anytime soon.

brulaz

Yeah, that's pretty much my only complaint with the engine/tranny.

Just came back from the Southern Appalachians and spent a far amount of time in First gear, racing the engine/tranny at ~5000 rpm and 25-30 mph just to get down some hills. Don't like the sound and doubt if its good for the tranny. Funny thing is, the engine purrs up those hills at much lower rpms, so it's a real surprise that you need such high rpms to get back down.

Year before I went down in Second gear. Lower rpms but used the brakes a lot more. At the end of it they were cooking (but not fading much). You could smell them bad, both truck and trailer brakes. No damage though.

Not sure which is worse: First gear and screaming at high rpms, or second and cooked brakes. Luckily this only happens a couple of times a year, but the wife and I do like the mountains and mountain driving, so it's not going to stop.

Not currently planning to move up to Superduty though. The 6.2L gives much poorer mileage than the EcoB, and the diesel is pretty expensive (initial and ongoing).

ford15012

I tow a 34', 8000 pound camper. I just made the switch yesterday. Traded my 2012 F-150 Ecoboost for a 2012 F-250 Power Stoke. I had load range E tires, Timbren rubber springs on my F-150, and have a Blue Ox Sway Pro w/d hitch. I did about almost everything I could to help the F-150 handle the weight better, and it did decent except for windy conditions. Never had it to a scale, but I know I was overloading the F-150. The F-250 should easily and safely handle my camper, and any future camper except for a large luxury fifther. I figure there's a reason I see more diesel 3/4 and 1 ton trucks at campgrounds than 1/2 ton trucks.

PawPaw

Wife and I went in on a Fuzion 371 toy hauler with my daughter and son in law. It's right on the max the F-250 can handle. We had to put a Reese sidewinder pin box extender to clear the cab when turning. Airlift bags level the load but a F-350 DRW may be in the near future. Trailer is a little over 13K empty and 16K maxed out which we don't do. Great for the 3 grandsons and 4 adults with the bath and a half...plus the garage area makes a great dining area or play area for the kids. Rear patio is nice too! Never thought I'd end up with something like this.

5.0GN tow

I have found the 5.0 to be pretty decent at the engine braking function. Maybe the extra two cylinders are the difference there. I don't mind the downshift going uphill the engine never really seems like it's really laboring, just seems to wind up and pull. If I went any heavier a trailer I would have to think about an HD package or 250 probably but this truck and trailer are a great fit.

BAM298

PawPaw......that thing looks SWEET!

Any interior pictures?

PawPaw

King size bed in master.





Living area with upper bunk for the 7 yr old.





Garage area looking out to the fenced patio.





1/2 bath in garage area.





rear patio.





master bath





master bath.

Here's a few pictures and realized I need to take some better shot's of the inside. Check out Keystone Fuzion 371 floorplan and interior pictures. These big toy haulers are nice but real heavy on the pin weight. Best to pull them with a 350 or 450 dually.

BAM298

Wow....just wow. Hope you guys get lots of fun years out of that thing.

Taurkon

Very nice trailer PawPaw althought I don't need these types of nudges. Already spent enough on recreational toys.